


Too Hot, Hot Damn

by Eibon



Category: Soul Eater, Soul Eater Not!
Genre: Comedy, F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 02:43:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4287720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eibon/pseuds/Eibon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Of course Kim realized that her partner had the hots for her; it was painfully obvious. Getting Jackie to admit to it, on the other hand, was proving to be rather difficult. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say, and the stunt Kim had in mind might well have been considered pretty desperate. Not that such an observation was going to stop her. She was going to get Jackie to confess and to hell with the consequences.<br/>Spoiler alert: Never say to hell with the consequences. That's just asking for consequences.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Too Hot, Hot Damn

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution for Reverb 2015. I want to thank my collaborator ifeanart for coming up with this amazing concept and for providing the accompanying art. Enjoy!

    Kim let out a weary sigh and wiped the sweat from her forehead. Her legs were starting to stick to the back of the seat. All around her, students were struggling to keep their heads up as Ms. Nygus said "wavelength" for what had to be the fiftieth time. The broken thermostat on the back wall, eternally stuck at 133°F, looked more accurate to Kim every second. She felt like she was stuck in a sauna inside of a giant oven inside of Death Valley.

    Which, she supposed, wasn't too far off from the truth.

    She looked down to her notebook. The page was covered in doodles that ranged from cartoonish and light-hearted at the top to scratchy and unsettling towards the bottom. Her eyes lingered on a little skull-and-crossbones drawn in the corner. How were they expected to focus on a lecture when she could barely focus on slacking off?

    Jackie seemed to be holding up much better than her in these conditions. Not that she didn't look as exhausted as everyone else, but she was still capable of following the lecture. Kim wondered if transforming into a flame throwing-lantern made her more accustomed to higher temperatures. Or maybe being a perfectionist gave her reserves of energy that mere mortals didn't have access to.

    At the very least Kim would be able to borrow notes from someone later. Not that she was particularly excited about the prospect of studying. The last time there had been a test, her partner had to practically beg to get her to focus.

    Kim frowned. She had rather quickly grown accustomed to thinking of Jackie as her partner. Not too long ago she had thought of Jackie as an uptight spoilsport growing dangerously close to discovering her secret. Now? Well, Jackie could still be a pain in the butt sometimes but her dedication to Kim was astonishing. More than that, it seemed implausible.

    Not that it wasn't a lovely idea: a virtual stranger risking everything to protect a hated enemy of the Academy out of the goodness of her heart. It sounded like a fairy tale.

    But Kim wasn't naive. She'd seen enough of the real world to know that people weren't inclined to charity. As much as she wanted to believe that story, she wasn't quite ready to let her guard down. For all she knew Jackie was cozying up to her for her magic. Maybe she wanted an advantage over her other classmates in EAT. Or maybe she just wanted a witch's soul and realized it would be easier to finish Kim off if she didn't see it coming.

    Kim tugged down on her collar. Or maybe the heat had fried her brain and turned her into a paranoid idiot. Jackie didn't deserve such terrible suspicions. She had stayed by Kim's side when she had every reason to run or turn her over to the authorities. She may have been a stick in the mud, but she was still her friend. Kim just desperately wanted to know why.

    She felt eyes on her before she even turned her head. Jackie looked back down to her desk so fast Kim was surprised she didn't hear a snap. It was so quick that Kim almost missed it, but it almost looked like Jackie was looking down her shirt.

    The loud clanging of the school's bells brought her train of thought to an explosive end. Ms. Nygus slammed the heavy tome in front of her closed and pleasantly dismissed the class. Kim rose up from her seat and stretched her arms up over her head. She decided it was too hot for contemplation as she sauntered towards the exit.

    "Kim!" Jackie's distressed voice reached her ears just as she turned into the hallway. "Wait up!"

    Kim leaned against the wall and listened for her partner's labored breath. How she could become short of breath following such a slow target was a mystery Kim couldn't even fathom. "It's a little too hot to be running, isn't it?" she asked as Jackie burst through the doorway.

    "I," Jackie said between gasps, "I thought you'd left without me."

    "I'm not going anywhere, Little Miss Tightass."

    "Kim!" Jackie's face turned beet red.

    She couldn't help but smirk. Jackie was always so cute when she was flustered. "Relax, I'm justing teasing."

    "Well it's not very funny!" her partner replied, her mouth curving into an adorable little frown.

    Kim rolled her eyes but didn't press the point. "You wanted to talk to me about something, right?"

    "Oh yes!" Jackie said. "I just wanted to see if you had plans after class today. There was this new place I wanted to try."

    "Eh, think I might just pass on going out today," she replied.

    "Please?" Jackie clapped her hands together. "It's this really cute little place, I'm sure you'll love it."

    Kim crossed her arms, silently weighing the blistering heat just outside against her friend's pleading face. "Okay, fine. But you're paying."

    Jackie didn't look remotely upset by these conditions as she threw her arms around her. "Oh thank you!"

    Kim smiled for a brief moment before pushing Jackie away. "Okay, okay, enough of that! I'll catch up with you later, kay?"

    Jackie nodded in agreement before practically skipping off to her next class. Kim, on the other hand, was contemplating skipping her next class as she strolled off in the opposite direction. She thought about finding someplace cool and quiet in school's basement and just getting lost for a few hours. That was when she heard a giggling like the tinkling of bells.

    She didn't need to look far to find out where the sound was coming from. She turned around and approached the end of a row of lockers. One door was swung wide open with the distinctive sound still echoing from behind it. Kim slammed the door closed to reveal a wide-eyed and suddenly silent Tsugumi Harudori.

    "Something funny freshman?" Kim asked, a rather frightening smile on her face. Tsugumi shook her head and whimpered like a puppy. "Mind letting me in on the joke?"

    "No I," Tsugumi said. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to make fun of you. I was just really happy that you two are getting along so well."

    "Likely story," she said, leaning in close to Tsugumi.

    The raven-haired girl edged back as far away from Kim as she could, holding her hands up in surrender. "No, seriously. Miss Jacqueline was trying so hard to be partners with you. It almost felt like she wanted to be your girlfriend or something."

    Kim blinked. Her composure remained remarkably stoic even as her mind was racing. All at once sidelong glances and emotional outbursts from Jackie were coming to mind, individual pieces to a jigsaw puzzle that formed together into a clear picture. "Is that right?" she asked, her voice level.

    Tsugumi nodded and said, "I was trying so hard to help her team up with you. I guess I'm just really excited that everything worked out for the best." She let out a sigh as Kim backed away from her at last.

    Kim stood in silence for a moment. This was certainly a lot to process. If it was true it was the answer she had been looking for. But suspicion and hearsay weren't going to be enough. This was going to require a more thorough investigation.

    Tsugumi attempt to sneak by her interrogator before Kim extended a hand to cut off her escape. She shot Kim a confused look until the witch of the girl's dormitory held out an open palm to her.

    "There's a fee for laughing in my hallways." An investigation was, of course, going to require proper funding.

\\\\\

    "So I tell her maybe she should try kissing a prince so she can turn into something a little less ugly." Jackie gave a half-hearted laugh but it was clear she wasn't paying attention to what Kim had to say. Judging by the way her eyes kept drifting down and then immediately darting to the side, it wasn't hard for Kim to guess what held her attention.

    Not that Kim could blame her. She had changed into this top for the express purpose of giving Jackie a better look at her cleavage. As she leaned into the table to take another sip of lemonade, she pushed her breasts together ever so slightly and pretended not to notice as her friend's eyes went wide.

    So far this investigation was going quite well.

    "I've got to admit, this place is pretty nice," Kim said, trying to appear oblivious. Not that she didn't agree with the sentiment. It was a chic little cafe and the food wasn't bad at all. The only real problem was that it was quite crowded, which meant the girls had to sit at a table set up outside. Even with a big yellow-and-white parasol blocking the sunlight it was still unbearably hot.

    "I'm glad you like it," Jackie replied, casting furtive glances all around like a squirrel. She leaned in close to whisper, "But are you sure you should be telling a story like that in public?"

    Kim waved a hand and said, "It's okay, nobody else can tell what we're talking about anyway. And besides I can count on you to keep my secret, right?" She ended her statement with a playful wink.

    "Of course!" Jackie said, straightening up like a recruit before a drill sergeant.

    Kim tilted her head and smiled. "Then we have nothing to worry about." She reached out for a french fry and popped it into her mouth before adding, "You know, I can't help but think you want to tell me something."

    "Hmm?" Jackie's brow furrowed as Kim scooped a generous amount of ketchup onto another fry. "What do you mean?"

    "Well, you just look like you- Ooh!" She feigned surprise as a dollop of ketchup 'accidentally' landed on her bare chest. She ran a finger over her skin to wipe up the sauce and then slowly licked it off. Jackie looked like her eyes might pop out of their sockets. "You just look like you want to get something off your chest, you know?"

    Jackie looked askance. "I mean, I have been meaning to tell you something but," she said before trailing off.

    "But?" Kim leaned in once more.

    "It's a little bit embarrassing."

    She pursed her lips even though she felt like beaming. This had to be a confession, no doubt about it. Still, she had to play it cool. She didn't want Jackie catching on that she already knew. She steadied herself and said, "Don't worry, you can tell me."

    Jackie took a drink of her ginger ale before saying, "Okay, here it is: Kim, I can see your bra through your shirt."

    "Oh," Kim said matter-of-factly. It took her a moment before she added, in a more exaggerated tone, "Oh! How on earth did that happen? I can't believe I missed that." She hadn't missed it, of course, she had chosen a deep red bra to wear underneath her white top for just that reason.

    Jackie hung her head and said, "I wanted to say something earlier but I didn't know how to tell you."

    "No, it's fine," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Wait, so what was the other thing you wanted to tell me?"

    "Other thing?"

    "You know!" Her words were a little more passionate than she had intended. Who did Jackie think she was fooling with that blank expression? Kim knew she had her right where she wanted her. "That other thing you wanted to tell me."

    Jackie blinked and said, "That was pretty much all I wanted to say."

    "But I-" she stopped herself short of saying anything too revealing. "Okay, you weren't going to say anything, but don't you feel like you should say something now?"

    "No, not really," Jackie said, shaking her head. She was silent for a moment before adding, "Are you feeling alright?"

    Kim made an exasperated groan. Jackie had to be playing dumb with her at this point, there was no other explanation. The problem was Jackie seemed to be very good at feigning ignorance. She was probably fooling herself at this point.

    "Okay, let's start over. I feel like you aren't-"

    "Jackie?" a new voice asked, much to her consternation. She turned to find a familiar-looking boy with glasses and dreadlocks approaching their table. Kim emphatically hoped Jackie wouldn't take the bait.

    "Kilik?" she responded, dashing Kim's hopes. The name immediately fit with his face in her head. Kilik Rung, one of the top students in EAT. The guy already had a serious following on campus and a talent for compatibility with multiple different weapon types.

    Kim felt her jaw clench tight as she resisted the urge to scowl.

    "I thought that was you," he said with a cocky grin. He walked right up to them as if he was invited.

    Jackie didn't seem as annoyed by the intrusion. "What brings you out here?"

    "I was looking for Black Star. I told him no-one could run across Death City in five minutes and he took it as a challenge." He scratched the back of his head and said, "His partner wanted me to see if I could find where he ran off to."

    Jackie rolled her eyes. "That guy. I swear it's impossible to know what he's gonna do next."

    "Well, I figured I should at least try to find him since I gave him the idea." He didn't seem in a particular hurry to Kim, who found herself glaring at the boy.

    "We were actually in the middle of a conversation if you don't mind," Kim said at last in a forceful tone.

    "Kim!" her partner said with a frown. "That's rude."

    The interloper turned to her for the first time, recognition in his eyes. "You're Jackie's new partner, right? Sorry, where are my manners?" He held out a hand. "Kilik Rung. Nice to meet you."

    She eyed him and the hand wearily for a moment. At last she grasped it and said, "Kim Diehl."

    "Oh I know who you are," Kilik said. "My boy Ox has a serious crush on you. I've got to say, you surprised a whole lot of us. We were all wondering when Jackie was gonna decide on a partner. And nobody expected she'd pick someone from NOT."

    Kim frowned. He had to be making fun of her, right? Suggesting that Jackie was wasting her time with some nobody. Just because he was some bigshot from EAT didn't mean he was better than her!

    That's what she wanted to say. As she felt her face grow warmer, however, all she managed was to mumble something that sounded like, "I mean, whatever I guess."

    "It's not that strange!" Jackie spoke up, pushing a topic that Kim would have been much happier to see end. "Lots of students switch between EAT and NOT before they graduate. Kim and I have even been talking about her switching to EAT."

    Kim looked away with a grimace. She was rapidly losing control of this situation. Kilik and Jackie didn't look like they were anywhere close to finishing this conversation. Jackie in particular seemed pretty enthusiastic to talk with him, a cheery smile coming to her face.

    She repressed the strong desire to yell at Kilik to stop talking to her friend. That wouldn't help anything, even if it would feel spectacular. She needed to regroup, get Jackie someplace where they could be alone so she could rebuild the atmosphere they had before.

    She smirked as a brilliant plan popped into her head.

    "Oh my gosh!" she said, affecting an innocent tone. "I completely forgot, I promised I'd help with something. I really need to get going!"

    Jackie held out a hand as Kim rose up out of her seat. "Hold on, let me just take care of the check and I'll come with."

    "No!" Kim shouted. She dialed back her excitement as she added, "I mean, there's no need. You and Kilik should see if you can find that friend of yours. But if you do want to help, maybe you could meet up with me later for something?"

\\\\\

    Kim let out a deep breath and shook her hands out at her sides. She had to get her nerves under control. Plan B was absolutely foolproof: She'd have Jackie all to herself and there was no way her partner would be able to resisting spilling the beans. With what Kim had in mind, she'd be like putty in her hands. But in order to pull this plan off, she would have to appear completely cool and composed.

    In her current attire, this was easier said than done. The seafoam green bikini certainly didn't leave much to the imagination. Not that Kim was uncomfortable with showing off a little skin exactly. What really put her on edge about this minimalist ensemble was the frilly white trim that made it just a little too cutesy-poo. She actually liked the way it looked on her and certainly didn't mind Jackie getting a look at it, but it would be a serious blow to her rep if someone else were to see her in this outfit.

    Of course she had already taken care of that eventually, she reminded herself. There was no reason for her to be concerned. She slapped her cheeks lightly, psyching herself up for her performance before marching out of the changing room.

    The swimming pool was immaculately clear, the water only momentarily disturbed by the slightest breeze. The deep blue of the pool looked incredibly refreshing but even it hadn't escaped this nightmarish heatwave. Even warm water was preferable to no water, however, and it was unusual to see the pool deserted on such an afternoon. Kim was grateful that most people were so gullible. All it took was a little 'Out of Order' sign to convince them not to go somewhere.

    Kim wasn't planning to monopolize the place for too long. She had told Jackie that she agreed to help clean out the pool today. After she arrived to help, Kim would discover she had 'accidentally' come on the wrong day. It would take a little while for her to come to this realization, however. Just long enough for her to get Jackie so wound up she'd have no choice but to confess to her crush.

    She crept around the empty pool and flopped down on one of the plastic lounge chairs set up along the side. The bright sun beat down on her from above as she waited for her friend. She tried to ignore the glare at first, closing her eyes or shading her vision. Anticipation soon got the better of her, prompting her to change positions in her chair numerous times as the minutes ticked away.

    Kim had just rolled onto her belly for the third time when she heard the rhythmic clatter of footsteps. As the gate swung open with a creak she realized Jackie had finally arrived. She pushed herself up by her elbows, arched her back, and lazily began to kick her legs up in the air as she looked away.

    "Well, it's about time you got here," she said as footsteps drew close to the pool. She turned her head slowly, doing her best innocent face. As she saw her visitor, however, her mouth fell open.

    "Kim!" the nearly-bald young man standing in front of her said as he adjusted his glasses. "My darling!"

    Oh hell, Ox was here.

    She tried to roll onto her back and pull herself into a sitting position, but in her haste and frustration only managed to roll completely off of the chair and backward onto pavement. One trembling hand pulled her up onto her knees. She looked up to see Ox's mesmerized face. At most times, it was hard to determine exactly where Ox was looking behind those thick spectacles of his. This was not one of those time.

    "Ox! Oh for the love of," she trailed off.

    "Exactly!" He kneeled down in front of her, his face level with hers, and continued, "My love for you drew me here! Oh Kim, your boundless radiance is practically spilling forth from you today, a shining beacon beckoning me ever nearer!"

    She shot back a blank look and asked, "Uh, what?"

    "He's saying your boobs look nice today," a particularly dry voice said. At once Kim noticed a second visitor standing behind Ox. Harvar, the spiky-haired Scott Summers wannabe, paused for a moment before adding, "He's right."

    "Wha-" Kim began before crossing her arms tight over her chest. "What are you two idiots doing here?!"

    It was hard to tell, but it looked like Ox might be surprised. "We came to help clean the pool."

    "Which, strangely enough, is full today," Harvar added, his voice laced with suspicion.

    Kim ignored the accusation, leaning in towards Ox with a scowl as she said, "I asked Jackie to come help me out with the pool, not you dicks!"

    "I suspect she would not have been of any more use than us," Harvar said, casting his gaze back towards the pool.

    "Jackie wanted to come help, honest!" Ox cried. "She got side-tracked helping some of those lower classmen friends of yours find something."

    "Something about Black Star and a sloth," Harvar added. "I'll be honest, I wasn't paying attention, it was all too absurd for me."

    "We ran into her and she asked us to give you a hand in her place."

    Kim felt her hands ball up into fists. It figured the Three Stooges would mess things up. Now Jackie wasn't coming and this had all been a humiliating waste of time. Worse still, now she had to slip away from these jerks without revealing what she had actually been planning.

    "So you knew the pool was fine but you were still sitting around here waiting for her?" Harvar asked.

    A frustrated cry escaped from Kim as she rose to her feet. "Oh forget it!" she said before storming away from the boys.

    "Nice ass, by the way," Harvar said, looking back to her.

    "Oh screw off!" Kim shouted back.

    Harvar turned back to his partner and asked, "How was that?"

    Ox pushed himself back onto his feet. "Eh, you get an A for effort pal," he said, a frown on his face, "but you come off as a little too forward for a wingman. I think I'm gonna go solo next time."

    "Fine by me," Harvar said with a sigh. "You humans and your courtship rituals..."

\\\\\

    Kim stalked the halls of the girl's dormitories with a glower born of frustration. Her gaze swung mechanically from side to side in search of her partner. Anyone unlucky enough to lock eyes with her for even a brief moment was quick to turn their head away lest they incur the witch's wrath.

    To say thing were going poorly would be a grave understatement. Plan A and Plan B had both been a wash, which left her with Plan C. Of course Plan C was just a very professional way of saying she didn't have a plan. She didn't even know where Jackie had run off to at this point.

    At the very least she was no longer dressed in that embarrassing bikini. Checking in at their dorm room had been Kim's first stop, and though it was empty she had taken the opportunity to change into something a little less revealing and a lot less cutesy. Not to say that her current attire wasn't eye-catching. The white skirt and tank top combination would definitely have been considered sexy. Her decision not to wear a bra, however, was more risky than risqué. Kim may not have had a plan but she was more than ready to improvise on the spot in this outfit.

    The sight of Jackie's signature hair bun nearly caused her to trip over her own feet. Kim made a panicked yelp before scrambling behind the corner to stay out of sight. Apprehensively, she peeked her head back out just in time to see Jackie heading into the communal bathroom. Pink eyebrows rose up Kim's forehead. This situation afforded her a few very specific opportunities, the thought of which made her heartbeat quicken just a little. A plan of attack began to form in her devious head.

    Of course there was going to be some risk. Kim hadn't seen anyone enter after Jackie but that didn't mean the bath was completely empty, nor did it mean no-one else would enter after her. Any intruder could mess up her scheme just as easily as Kilik had. She turned back around and stroked her chin, completely oblivious to the world around her as she considered her options.

    "Need some help?"

    Kim let out a high-pitched shriek, throwing her arms up with a start. Slowly she turned her head to the source of the question, the rest of her body remaining frozen in place. Next to her the kindly-looking superintendent of the girl's dorm smiled down at her.

    "Oh great, it's you," Kim said in a particularly disdainful tone.

    If Miss Misery took offense at her words, it certainly didn't show on her eternally-cheerful face. Her voice was warm and friendly as she asked, "You need to confront Jacqueline about something, don't you?"

    Kim flinched. "W-what are you talking about? I don't- I mean, I have no idea what you're talking about!"

    "No, no, I understand," Misery said. "I can very clearly see what's happening."

    "No you can't!" Kim said, her voice tight.

    Misery nodded. "You want to go tell Jacqueline that she needs to stop hanging out with Mary because you think she's beneath the two of you and will only drag you down."

    For a brief moment, Kim had forgotten that the superintendent of the girl's dorm was absolutely bonkers. "Sure. That makes sense. Probably."

    "Oh I knew it!" she said with a delighted squeal. "This is just like when the mean girls gang up on Mary!"

    Kim rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. Hey, could you do me a favor and guard the door for a bit?" She gestured towards the bathroom door. "I just don't want, uh, 'Mary' or anyone else to overhear us talking."

    "Oh of course," Misery said. "I was probably going to do that anyway."

    "Hey, fantastic," Kim said, her voice thick with sarcasm as she turned around and strode towards the bathroom door. She snuck in quietly as the superintendent positioned herself just outside the entrance.

    "And now, to reenact Chapter Thirteen," Misery said in a far-too-excited voice.

\\\\\

    Kim peeked out from behind the lockers to look at her partner. Jackie was busy changing and didn't seem to notice her. Which meant that Plan C (or whatever this was called now) could proceed as planned. She could definitely pull this off, she reminded herself. There was no way she'd get interrupted or sidetracked here. No distractions would keep her from getting a confession.

    She found herself lingering on her partner's half-naked form for a few seconds longer than intended. She shut her eyes and shook her head. 'No distractions,' she reminded herself. She looked back to see Jackie turning around and ducked back behind the locker. There was no verbal response from Jackie, no accusation or question, so Kim could only assume that she had successfully remained hidden.

    'No sense tempting fate any longer,' Kim thought. She slipped out from behind the locker and was delighted to find that Jackie had turned back towards her locker to adjust her bowtie. Which meant that Kim still had the element of surprise. She grinned for just a moment as she crept up behind her partner before putting on a stern face.

    "And what do you think you're doing?" she asked in a booming voice. Jacqueline very nearly jumped out of her skin, letting out a shrill cry before turning around with eyes like a deer staring down an eighteen wheeler. It was all Kim could do to keep a straight face and avoid bursting out into laughter.

    If there were any flaws in her performance, it certainly didn't look like Jackie noticed them. "Kim!" she cried in a tremulous voice. "What are you-"

    "Thought you could stand me up, did you?" Kim asked, pushing the domineering angle up to eleven. Which, she had to admit, must have looked rather silly considering the height advantage Jackie had on her. "Thought you could just ditch me with those two losers?"

    "I wasn't trying to ditch you!" she cried. "I tried to stop by the pool but you had already left!"

    "No." Kim said with a note of finality. "No more excuses out of you." She pointed down to the bench behind Jackie and commanded, "Sit down."

    Jacqueline looked down at the bench and then shot a confused look to her partner, but the stern look Kim returned immediately cowed her into obeying. Kim turned away from her with a flourish of her skirt. She strode a few paces away, her hips swaying with a steady rhythm, before turning back. It wasn't hard to figure out where Jackie had been looking. "Um, what are you doing?" she asked, a slight blush coming to her face.

    Kim marched back over to her, hands on her hips. She put one finger up to Jackie's lips and said, "No more questions either." One corner of Kim's mouth curved up in a smirk as she gently traced her finger down Jackie's face before pulling it away. "I think I should give you a little demonstration of just what you missed out on."

    She bent over and cupped her own breasts, giving Jackie an eyeful of her cleavage. She slowly ran her hands down her body, her fingertips coming to a stop at the hem of her skirt. Jackie straightened out like a noodle being boiled in reverse as her partner started to lift up her skirt, giving a momentary peek at what lie underneath before quickly pulling it back down. She tried to stutter something out but Kim simply wagged a finger in her face.

    "Don't talk!" she said with a childish frown. Her features softened once more as she added, "Just watch."

    She spun around with a flourish of her skirt and swaggered away. She kept her back to Jackie as she began to shimmy her hips rapidly like a belly dancer. At least that's what she hoped she looked like, it felt more like she was trembling violently. Her quivering came to a brief stop as she quickly crouched down to untie her shoes. She shot back up, shaking her butt as she did, and kicked her shoes off.

    Her sole spectator was completely silent throughout this performance. Kim had been hesitant to face her audience all this time, suspecting her own face was already redder than Jackie's at this point. By now, though, the quiet uncertainty had overwhelmed her shame and she could take no more. She looked back over her shoulder at her partner, hiding her curiosity behind an aloof pout.

    Jackie was mesmerized by her routine. Her lips were barely open and her eyelids were half closed in a dreamy look. Her chest heaved out with each trembling breath. Kim turned back and grinned briefly. This was going better than she had sort-of planned it would.

    She swiveled her whole body back to face Jackie, running her hands slowly up her naked stomach. One finger caught the edge of her tank top and began to lift it up. Jackie bit down on her bottom lip as Kim exposed the underside of her breast. Before she could show anymore, however, Kim gasped in mock surprise and tugged her shirt back down.

    Continuing to feign modesty, she turned her back to her partner and hastily undid her skirt, leaving the garment hanging loosely off her curvy frame. She looked over her shoulder once more and teased Jackie with another peek beneath her tank top. Only this time Kim pulled the fabric up just far enough to expose her nipple, giving her partner a sly smile as she revealed it.

    Jackie gasped at the sight but there was another reaction. Her hair bun had quite suddenly caught alight. A tiny orange flame now flickered on top of her head, giving hot and bothered an entirely new meaning. Kim had heard that her partner was prone to catching fire when she was emotional but she had no idea how adorable it was.

    She turned back around and bent over, revealing a pair of pink panties as began to pull down her miniskirt. She took her time teasing the skirt down over her ass before dropping it at her feet. She spun back around, kicked the skirt to the side, and sauntered up to her inflamed partner. It was time for the finale.

    Kim knelt down on the bench, straddling Jackie's lap and prompting the girl to lean back. Jackie's light flickered against the locker and through the slits at the top of the metal door. The candle light flashed blue for the briefest moment as Kim pulled off her tank top, leaving Jackie only inches from her partner's bare chest. She looked like she was close to fainting, a sight which brought another grin to Kim's face.

    "So," the witch said as her face drew close to Jackie's, "now what do you have to say?"

    Jackie swallowed as she trembled beneath her partner. When she finally spoke, her voice was almost too soft to hear. "I don't understand. I thought you didn't," she began, but then changed her words. "I didn't know you liked me like this."

    Kim fought back a frown. They weren't exactly the words she'd been hoping to hear. After all Jackie was the one who had a crush on her, right? How was she supposed to respond to this?

    She sighed and tilted her head down, a smile coming to her weary face. There really was only one explanation for her actions and she was staring Kim right in the face. "Looks like it's your lucky day. Your dream girl has a crush on you."

    Jackie opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by a deafening series of beeps. Icy water began to sprinkle down over the two in sheets like an impromptu cold shower from the universe. The surprise nearly caused Kim to topple backwards off the bench. "Oh come on!" she cried out. "Seriously?"

    She pulled herself off the bench and helped Jackie up to her feet. The two girls shivered as they ran for the exit. Kim pulled the door half-open before her eyes bulged and she slammed it closed, turning around and pushing her back against the door.

    "Kim, what are you doing? We need to go!" Jackie shouted, growing more drenched by the minute.

    Kim grimaced. "There are people out there."

    "So what?" Jackie asked. "Of course there's people out there, they're probably trying to leave too!"

    The pink-haired girl made a long, drawn out vowel sound. "It's just that there are a lot of people out there, all gathered around the door, and I've kind of got my boobs hanging out." She crossed her arms over her chest to emphasize the point.

    Jackie looked from her left to her right as the water continued to rain down on them before turning to Kim and asking, "How many is a lot?"

    "Get back!" Miss Misery's voice rang out over the fire alarm. "No-one will interrupt Chapter Thirteen!"

    "Not enough to hold her back but I suspect that will change soon. Maybe we could just grab my clothes and sneak out the window?" Kim pointed to the top of Jackie's hair and added, "It's no big deal. Look, your pilot light's out."

    Jackie blinked. "My what?" She reached up to feel her hair, which had indeed been extinguished. "Wait, is that what set off the sprinklers? Oh no." She shook her head and said, "Well at least we can find your clothes before we have to explain this to someone."

    Jackie turned around, no doubt looking for where her partner had dropped her skirt, when Kim heard a loud crackling sound echoing from the lockers. She turned to see one locker smoking as flames began to stream out from the metal slits. The fire, it seemed, wasn't entirely out.

    "Ah, nevermind!" Kim cried as she grabbed her partner by the wrist. "Time to run!" She pulled open the door and then covered her chest as she ran past the assembled crowd trying to drag Misery out of the building.

\\\\\

    Kim had a frown on her face as she stood outside the girl's dormitory in an oversized t-shirt provided by the fire department. It seemed the heat wave had finally broken, just in time to leave her drenched and stranded outside. Behind her another group of firefighters streamed into the dorm. More spectators were gathering every second to watch the circus that her day had devolved into.

    It was times like this that Kim really regretted that she wasn't born with the power to set things on fire.

    Jackie, whose clothes were even more waterlogged at this point than her own, finished speaking with one of the firemen and strolled over to Kim. If anyone deserved to be more upset than herself right now it was Jackie. Yet amazingly her partner has resisted the urge to start throw fireballs out of frustration. On the contrary, she looked rather upbeat considering the circumstances.

    "The firemen believe the story I gave them about my hair catching fire accidentally," Jackie said, a wry smile on her face. "Which is essentially the truth, minus a few key details. Turns out involuntary weapon transformation cause a lot of accidents around here." Kim nodded but didn't say anything, not particularly interested in discussing the incident any further. Jackie's voice was a little softer as she added, "So how long have you known I had a crush on you?"

    Kim's face lit up like she was under a heat lamp."Obviously I knew the whole time!" She turned away and added, "I mean, I've known for a while. What, you think I just figured it out this morning?"

    Jackie's smile grew larger as she listened to Kim speak. "I guess now I know it's not one-sided, huh?"

    Kim made a frustrated whining sound. For all her efforts, Jackie had outlasted her to the very end and gotten a confession out of her first. And Kim had so been looking forward to teasing her partner a little bit longer about her crush. Now it seemed she would be the one getting teased.

    "You know," Jackie said as she grabbed Kim's hand, "I feel awful for interrupting your performance. Maybe later I could make it up to you? I'd love to show you just how I feel."

    A small smile tugged at the edges of Kim's mouth. She may have lost, but second place was starting to look like a much better proposition.

    "Kim! Hold on my darling!" Ox's voice rang out from behind them. The girls turned to watch him dash into the dorm entrance with reckless abandon. "Don't worry! Volunteer Firefighter Ox Ford is here to save you!"

    "Don't worry, I've got him." Harvar's dry voice brought their attention forward once more. Ox's partner stood before them for a moment as though puzzled. He looked them both up and down. At last he said, "Yep, I don't think he noticed you two." With that he walked right past them and towards the dorm in order to reclaim his partner, leaving Kim and Jackie completely befuddled.


End file.
